The Osipov State Russian Folk Orchestra is best known for their classic Russian tunes, but here’s a pretty cool cover of the 1971 Led Zeppelin classic Stairway to Heaven.
https://youtu.be/R0YB8Ao8GDA
TD Markham Jazz Festival August 16 to 18 – Festival Survival Kit and Final Details!
Get out your comfy shoes, bring a hat and plan to take the free MJF Shuttle Bus – it’s time for superb live jazz in Unionville!
Follow these tips to help make your TDMJF experience easy and rewarding!
It’s TD Markham Jazz Festival week! And what a party we have planned for you. From August 16 to 18, we’re celebrating up and down Main Street Unionville with outstanding music by top Canadian and International musicians. Three FREE stages plus street performances and music in bars and restaurants.
From saxophone and vocal sensation Alison Young, and Chicago’s Low Down Brass Band on Friday night at the Bandstand, to 6-time Juno nominee Michael Kaeshammer on Saturday evening, to our final performance on Sunday afternoon by Juno winner bassist and songwriter Brandi Disterheft (in from New York), this year’s line-up is nothing short of amazing. Over 30 free performances by professional artists performing jazz, blues, funk, fusion and more.
Find the complete performance schedule at www.markhamjazzfestival.com/schedules
To enhance your visit and listening pleasure, please note the following updates and tips.
Be aware of Main St. closures – Thousands of people converge on Unionville and enjoy strolling along historic Main St. during Festival weekend. To keep things safe, Main Street will be closed to vehicles Saturday (noon to 11 p.m.) and Sunday (noon to 7 pm) from Carlton Rd. to the Concession Road bypass.
Avoid traffic and parking delays – The Festival provides convenient shuttle buses to Main Street Unionville and back all weekend from the Markham Pan Am Centre at the foot of Main St. Unionville, near the 407. Even if you live in the area, consider driving to this convenient site and taking the bus instead of trying to park around Unionville.
Find maps and directions at www.markhamjazzfestival.com/shuttle-service
Pack up all your cares and woes – and bring a chair! – First rule of attending festivals: Be comfortable! Second rule: Be prepared for changes in weather. Clouds can give way to sunshine; temperatures can go up – and then down again.
- Wear comfy shoes! No one is looking at your feet.
- Carry your things in a light backpack.
- Wear a hat and use sunblock.
- Bring a jacket or hoodie.
- Hydrate!
Bring a chair – Seating at our three main stages can fill up quickly. Experts often carry a lightweight, folding chair from venue to venue.
Follow the Golden Rule! – The Festival is a shared public experience, so be considerate of your fellow audience members.
- Silence phones during performances.
- Be sure your umbrella isn’t blocking someone’s view.
- Avoid overwhelming those nearby with smoking or vaping of any kind.
Reserve now at our “Hot Spots” – Complementing more than 30 free acts on our three outdoor stages and along Main Street Unionville are “Hot Spot” performances before and during the Festival. These have become very popular. Be sure to call ahead.
The full schedule appears in our printed program and online at www.markhamjazzfestival.com/schedules under Hot Spots and Street Performances.
UPDATE: Free tours of historic Main St. Unionville will take place Saturday and Sunday afternoons at 2:30. Meet in front of Elevated TV and Stereo at the NW corner of Fred Varley Dr. and Main St.
Tell us what you think! – Social media and instant access to online info are creating great collective conversations. Like us on Facebook (@markhamjazzfestival.com). Share your photos and recommendations on Twitter (@markhamjazzfest #markhamjazz). And take our survey, and get a chance to win tickets to a jazz performance at the Flato Markham Theatre this fall or winter. Or, simply turn to the fan next to you and chat. When it comes to jazz, there’s always something to talk about!
See you in Markham!
Hotels.com Is Looking For A Dog To Review Pet-Friendly Hotels
Hotels.com is on the hunt for our first ever hotel Canine Critic to review the best pet-friendly hotels around the world. It’s now all the rage to take your furry friend on your travels, so the winning pooch (and their human) will spread their “bark” and pick ten pet-friendly hotels around the world to visit on us. So, if you have a doggie diva, ’gram a pic of your pooch, tag and follow @hotelsdotcom and #CanineCritic.
US border wall see-saws allow children on each side to play together
Architect and anti-border wall campaigner Ronald Rael installed three pink see-saws on the US-Mexico border to allow families on each side to ‘meaningfully connect’ with each other and highlight the bond between the two countries. Rael said the see-saws turned the wall into a ‘literal fulcrum for US – Mexico relations’.
Measuring the Popularity of the Falsetto in Pop Music
From Justin Timberlake to the Bee Gees, Vox charted the popularity of men singing high. A few singers have been left out, as one YouTube poster mentions, “Snoop Dogg also sings high.” Heh.
Photo Gallery: Beast Coast – Escape From New York Tour with Joey Badass, Flatbush Zombies and more at Toronto’s RBC Echo Beach
All photos by Mini’s Memories. You can contact her at minismemories@hotmail.com
“What Does This Button Do?” An Evening With Bruce Dickinson Featuring Q&A Is Coming To Toronto
Live Nation Canada today announces a special one-man speaking show by IRON MAIDEN singer, BRUCE DICKINSON at Toronto’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre on November 23.
Bruce Dickinson is considered one of the world’s most storied musicians. Aside from decades spent delivering high-octane performances with his larger-than-life persona in IRON MAIDEN, Bruce has lived an extraordinary off-stage existence too. A true polymath, Bruce is, or has been, an airline pilot and captain, an aviation entrepreneur, a beer brewer, motivational speaker, film scriptwriter, twice-published novelist and best-selling author, radio presenter, TV actor and international fencer.
The 2017 publication of his New York Times & UK Times Best-Seller autobiography What Does This Button Do? saw Bruce promoting the book by undertaking a small number of readings and Q&A in theatres around the UK. What Does This Button Do? – An Evening With Bruce Dickinson has since evolved into a full-blown one-man show, more akin to a stand-up comedian’s routine, lasting well over two hours and touring the globe to critical acclaim, including a sold-out performance last summer at the largest arts festival in the world, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Split into two parts, the first half of the show sees Bruce taking a humorous, often satirical look back at his colourful, roller-coaster life. Delivering compelling tales in his uniquely anarchic style and punctuated with photographs, he recounts anecdotes not just from the book, but others deemed either too risqué or otherwise to have made the final edit…..!
The second half of the evening is devoted entirely to a Q&A session, where fans’ quirky, frank and often completely leftfield questions are tackled with completely improvised – and invariably quick-witted – responses by Bruce, all of which makes for a highly entertaining and enjoyable night out.
Do not miss this unique opportunity to witness one of the world’s most captivating icons in an intimate environment when Bruce Dickinson brings his one-man speaking show for the very first time to Toronto. Tickets go on sale this Friday, August 16th at 10am ET here.
Woodstock Revised – 50th Anniversary Celebration at Hot Docs Cinema in Toronto
To celebrate Woodstock’s 50th anniversary, join us for three more days of peace, love and music on the big screen at Toronto’s Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, from August 16-18.
On August 18, 1969, over a million young people descended on Max Yasgur’s farm in Woodstock, New York. What was meant to be a simple concert became the defining event of a generation—and an everlasting symbol of the power of the collective human spirit.
Take a trip back in time with Jimi, Janis, The Dead, David Crosby, The Band, Arlo Guthrie, and the many artists that provided the soundtrack to a festival that proved that, even in the most tumultuous of times, people can tune in, turn on, drop out, and come together for a shared experience not soon to be forgotten.
Imagine Documentaries Announces Louis Armstrong Documentary
Imagine Documentaries President, Justin Wilkes, announced today that the company has reached an exclusive deal with the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation to produce the definitive documentary on Jazz legend and beloved entertainer, Louis Armstrong. The deal comes with access to hundreds of hours of audio recordings, film footage, photographs, personal diaries and a life’s worth of ephemera for exclusive use in the first significant documentary dedicated entirely to his life. In addition to Louis’ prolific music and film career, Louis was an avid biographer and kept an almost daily audio diary from the early 1950’s until the day he passed in 1971, all on reel-to-reel tape recordings and all organized meticulously “for posterity” by “Pops” himself.
Widely known as the Promethean genius of modern American music teaching the world the language of jazz as its greatest singer and instrumentalist, Louis was an imaginative, insightful and industrious artist and entertainer of such depth and irresistible magnetism that he charted a number one record in 1964 (knocking The Beatles off the top of the charts), forty-one years after his groundbreaking recordings with his mentor Joe “King” Oliver. Offstage he was witty, introspective, and extremely complex. Louis was a beloved colleague and the definition of down-home but when crossed he could reveal an explosive temper. His larger-than-life and conventionally softened stage personality was much tougher and sharp-edged than his worshipping fans ever knew.
Production is scheduled to commence this fall. Over the last year, Imagine Documentaries’ has amassed a growing slate of productions which also includes the Bryce Dallas Howard documentary DADS, the Ron Howard directed documentary Rebuilding Paradise for National Geographic Documentary Films, a documentary about 13-time NBA All-Star Dwyane Wade for ESPN Films, Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band which is premiering as the opening night film at this year’s Toronto Film Festival, and the docu-series She The People with Sarah Jones, for CNN. The division recently teamed up with Apple to produce a slate of feature documentaries and docuseries, under an exclusive, first-look deal.
Imagine Documentaries was formed in 2018 by Imagine Entertainment Chairmen Brian Grazer and Ron Howard with a focus on developing and producing premium feature documentaries and non-scripted television. Based out of New York, Imagine Docs is run by Academy Award-nominated and multiple Emmy and Peabody Award-winning producers Justin Wilkes and Sara Bernstein.
The division expands on Imagine’s rich history in the documentary space which includes the hit National Geographic hybrid documentary series Mars, and Breakthrough as well as The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years which won the 2017 Grammy for Best Music Film, Jay Z’s Made in America, Prophet’s Prey, Katy Perry: Part of Me, Inside Deep Throat, and Beyond The Mat in the film space. Imagine Documentaries is currently producing the Ron Howard-directed film Rebuilding Paradise, which follows the Paradise, CA wildfires that most recently ravaged a community; Sound & Vision, the anthology docuseries with Rolling Stone Magazine; the docuseries She The People with Tony Award-winner Sarah Jones; the documentary DADS, with Bryce Dallas Howard directing; the Dwyane Wade documentary, This Is Brighton, a feature documentary about 14 year old Brighton Zeuner, the youngest-ever X Games gold medalist, and her journey to the 2020 Olympics; and Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band, a film executive produced by Martin Scorsese chronicling musician Robbie Robertson’s meteoric rise and the story behind The Band. Imagine also produced the Ron Howard directed Pavarotti about opera great Luciano Pavarotti, currently in theaters worldwide.
The Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation, Inc. was founded and funded by Louis Armstrong in 1969 and is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year. The foundation was created to give back to the world “some of the goodness he received.” The Foundation is dedicated to perpetuating the legacies of Louis and Lucille Armstrong throughout the world to include fostering jazz music programs, performance training, workshops and lectures on the history of jazz. LAEF is a living legacy to “Satchmo” Louis Armstrong, the most important creative force in the early development and perpetuation of America’s music, Jazz. His influence, as an artist and cultural icon, is universal, unmatched, and very much alive today. The organization is managed by a 16-member Board of Trustees, Stanley Crouch is the Board President. Louis Armstrong was born in the Storyville district of New Orleans on August 4, 1901 – he settled in Corona Queens (New York) with his 3rd wife, Lucille. Through the years, Louis traveled the world as America’s “Jazz Ambassador,” entertaining millions, from heads of state and royalty to the kids on his stoop in Corona. Despite his fame, he remained a humble man and lived a simple life in a working-class neighborhood. To this day, everyone loves Louis Armstrong-just the mention of his name makes people smile!
The Desert Festival That Started It All – Desolation Center
Stuart Swezey’s documentary Desolation Center is the untold story of a series of Reagan-era anarchic punk rock desert happenings with performances by Sonic Youth, Minutemen, Meat Puppets, and Perry Farrell that still reverberate throughout our culture. It gets released September 13, 2019.